


Son of Night

by salmonpapayas



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: BAMF Percy Jackson, Betrayal, Betrayed Percy Jackson, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Chaos, Chaos fic, F/M, Not Canon Compliant - The Trials of Apollo, Post-Betrayal, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Post-The Heroes of Olympus, Post-The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:08:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25743340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salmonpapayas/pseuds/salmonpapayas
Summary: Percy Jackson did everything for them.He killed, fought, lost, and conquered. He fought battles, won wars, prevented the collapse of the fourth age. He kept the gods on their thrones.And yet, it wasn't enough.Just as it seemed as though he might finally have a good life, the gods decided Percy was too powerful. They decided he needed to be punished. Their godly egos felt threatened by the boy who had given them so much, and they just couldn't handle it.So, a month after they defeated Gaea, Percy got called into the throne room of Olympus.And got betrayed.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson
Comments: 16
Kudos: 104





	Son of Night

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, I can't believe I'm finally writing this!
> 
> I've been in the pjo fandom for ages, and I've ALWAYS wanted to write a fic like this. It's kind of a take on the whole 'chaos fic', and I'm really excited. Now, ill be honest, I'm not the best at consistently uploading. But, I have a vision for the story I want to tell, so I'm gonna try my best. I really hope you enjoy, happy reading!

Its one thing to be considered one of the greatest demigods of your generation. It’s another thing to be the first one to battle alongside the gods in 5 thousand years.

Percy couldn’t help but think about that as he whirled through battle alongside Poseidon. Even though he’d been a part of the gods’ world for five years, it still held a level of insanity that he couldn’t wrap his head around. But he just kept on slashing and cutting his way through the battle, working to take down the giants.

He was vaguely aware of everything happening around him, where Leo, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Frank all were. From what he could tell, they were all safe, so he kicked himself into high gear. He felt wind and water start to whip around him, working with this god and that to take down each giant. His mini-storm confused his opponents and whirled their weapons away from him. He felt his rage towards Gaea build, and the storm along with it.

At one point, he teamed up with Hermes. They worked together to take down the giant Hippolytos, and Percy felt his anger mount once again. He didn’t know why, but he assumed he just especially disliked that particular giant, given that he didn’t have much time to mull it over. Hermes flew around with his magical shoes and helmet, and Percy attacked from the ground, confusing the giant and making any sort of defense difficult. Percy stabbed the giant several times, and it seemed to be going well. At least, until Hippolytos got a lucky hit on Hermes and knocked him to the ground.

He crashed into the ground with an alarming impact and struggled to get up. The land cracked around him, and his eyes were slightly glazed. Usually, a god shouldn’t have been injured so easily, but Hippolytos was the bane of Hermes, and the hit had drained the god. In a split second, before Hermes had a chance to recover, Hippolytos took his opportunity of weakness. He arced his spear towards Hermes. Percy instantly understood that if the spear hit Hermes, Hippolytos would win, and he was the only one close enough to stop it.

Time slowed down as the spear came down. Hermes sent a desperate look at Percy, his eyes filled with fear. _Huh_ , Percy thought. _That’s new._

The spear edged closer and closer to Hermes, and for a millisecond, Percy hesitated. He was still brimming with rage, and an intrusive thought popped into his head. _Why should I?_ The gods had tortured him, filled his life with pain. And if it weren’t for Hermes, the Titan war would’ve never happened. Kronos would’ve never corrupted Luke. Just for _once_ , Percy wanted to see a god suffer, see a god pay for their actions. He realized his anger wasn’t for the giant, but Hermes. He wanted to let him die.

 _No_. However bad the gods were, Gaea was worse. He couldn’t let his hatred for the gods impede the battle, no matter how much he wanted it.

Time resumed, and the spear came crashing down. At the last second, Percy jumped in and deflected it, taking the force’s brunt and protecting Hermes. The god recovered, and the battle went on until Hermes landed a fatal blow to Hippolytos, and the earth swallowed him whole.

Percy couldn’t tell if Hermes sensed his hesitation to help him or his anger. If he had, he didn’t show it, only kept on battling.

By that point, the giants’ numbers dwindled, most of the monsters eradicated, as well as the giants. The demigods and gods in the fight could sense victory was near, but there were still two giants left: Porphyrion and Polybotes, the bane of Zeus, and Poseidon.

For a moment, the battle stood still, The giants glowering at the demigods. The Gods assembled around them, waiting for someone to make a move. Then, two demigods stepped forward. Jason and Percy.

For a split-second, Percy thought about how fitting it was. They were the first moves made in the war, the exchanged between camps. And here they were now, the final move against the giants.

Then the moment ended, and they threw themselves into battle, their fathers behind them. Percy faced Polybotes. Where he should have felt tired, he felt energized, ready for the fight to be over, and prepared for the giants to finally get destroyed. He remembered the first time he saw the giant when he was on his quest with Hazel and Frank. Then, he felt terror. The giant’s presence had made him drained, weak, discouraged. It was the opposite feeling of the sea, and he wondered how he could ever defeat him.

But now, he didn’t care. He just acted. With riptide at his side, he went face to face with the giant, not allowing himself to slip. He fought with all the viciousness he could muster, moved as fast as he could. He couldn’t remember ever being so determined in a battle or being so sure in his every move. And now, he didn’t just aim to kill. He moved to hurt the giant, to punish him for all the destruction he caused. He knew Poseidon was with him, and he knew that he could kill the giant at any moment.

In the background, he heard an agonized roar and felt the ground rumble, which meant Jason defeated Porphyrion. Excitement overtook him. All he had to do was kill Polybotes, and the giants would fall. All of this would finally, _finally_ be worth it. He cut and slashed and dodged, pressing himself into Polybotes. He knocked away his massive sword and kept advancing. Emotions were practically bursting out of him when he managed to back the giant up to the edge of the cliff.

Polybotes was weakened, with cuts and stabs all over his body that probably should’ve healed faster but weren’t. He fell to his knees, weakened, and Percy held a sword to his throat. He was aware of the gods watching him, aware of every single thing around him. He started the giant in his eyes, feeling nothing but pure loathing.

“I hope you meet Akhyls when I kill you. You deserve all the misery of tartarus.”

Percy made the move to kill Polybotes and to end the rising of giants. But before he could drive riptide through his throat, a voice rang through the Parthenon.

_A brave stand, little hero. But sadly, I cannot allow you to continue._

Percy grit his teeth, not turning away. He felt a figure rise from the ground behind him.

_You are truly courageous, but I will not allow you to kill my son. You see, my family is important to me. I’m sure you share that sentiment._

A second figure rose from the ground, writhing in Gaea’s grip. He kept his eyes locked on Polybotes. “You have lost already, Gaea. I will kill him, and you _will_ be defeated. I won’t fall for any of your tricks.” Percy’s voice was surprisingly calm, but it was filled with determination.

_Are you sure, demigod?_

“Percy!” the second figure cried out.

For all his determination, he froze.

“Mom?”

His voice was no longer calm.

He risked a glance back and almost cried at what he saw. A ten-foot-tall Gaea was standing with her hand wrapped around Sally’s neck, holding her aloft. Her legs were kicking, but there was no way she could escape. At any moment, Gaea could simply squeeze her hand, and Percy’s mother would die.

_Surrender. Lower your sword and kneel before me. Make one move against my son, and your precious mother will die along with him._

Polybotes was still in front of him, riptide at his throat. It would be so easy to kill him. But Gaea knew him. She knew his fatal flaw, and he understood that he would do _anything_ to protect his mother. Percy’s head spun, trying desperately to think of a solution, but there was nothing. Either his mother died, or he let Gaea win. All of Percy’s instincts screamed at him to save his mother, but he didn’t move. He knew the gods were watching him, waiting. They all knew his fatal flaw, and he could practically hear their thoughts.

They didn’t trust him. They thought he would surrender. After all he had done for them, they still believed he would fail.

He could prove them wrong (again).

The air was stilled as Gaea waited for Percy’s response.

_Well? What will it be, Perseus Jackson? Will you save the gods that used you, or your mother, who loves you?_

A beat passed, then another. Silence.

Percy felt tears well in his eyes. He whispered to himself, “I’m sorry, Mom.” Then he stabbed Polybotes through the neck.

After that, several things happened at once. The giant toppled over the cliff and fell into the city of Athens. Percy pulled out riptide, turned, and lunged at Gaea. But he was too late. The earth goddess roared in anger and crushed Sally’s throat. When Sally fell to the ground, the earth absorbed her, leaving behind nothing.

Before Percy could reach Gaea, she too dissolved into the ground, leaving Percy to fall through empty air.

“NO!” he screamed in agony. He hit his hand on the ground, not fully processing what he saw. “No, no, no, no, no, MOM!”

He felt a hand on his shoulder, then another.

“Percy…”

He looked up and saw Annabeth and Poseidon above him. Annabeth looked distraught, and Poseidon’s eyes gleamed with wetness.

They pulled him to his feet, and he stumbled, dazed. It didn’t feel _real_. The image of Sally falling into the earth felt like a dream. How could- how could she be dead? She was in New York, and he was in Athens. It made no sense.

He looked at Poseidon. “I’m sorry, Percy. I know how difficult that was for you. But, you did the right thing.” His voice was filled with melancholy, but Percy felt a surge of anger. Was it the _right thing_? His mother was _dead_.

The rest of the gods and demigods assembled around him. He could feel friends pity but refused to acknowledge him. He couldn’t look them in the eye. Vaguely, he heard Zeus start talking, the rest of the seven trying to figure out how to get back to camp half-blood in time. Because Gaea still had to be defeated. The giants weren’t enough. _It’s never enough._

As the gods finished speaking and they had a plan, Percy heard Zeus address him. “Percy Jackson, I understand that the choice you had to make was difficult, but you chose well. We know that you have suffered much, and we thank you.” His tone was reluctant, and Percy could tell that it was a struggle to say the words. If he felt anger when his father spoke to him, hearing Zeus’ words made him furious.

He sacrificed his mother to protect the gods, and all he got was a generic thank you, and two people telling him it was ‘the right choice.’ He wanted to punch the king of the gods in his teeth. But he held back his barely-contained fury. For whatever reason, he knew attacking Zeus would not be the best revenge plan.

Revenge plan? _Where did that come from?_

Percy thought about it. Would he like revenge on the gods?

Yes.

He shook the thoughts from his head. That was a whole package that he did not have the time nor energy to unpack. He had to cross the ocean and rip apart Gaea for killing his mother.

\---

When the war was finally over, the relief in the air was palpable. Most of the kids there were around for both wars, and they were glad to have maybe a moment of peace, where they didn’t have to worry about the modern armageddon.

But not Percy.

After the explosion went off in the sky and Gaea was vanquished, Percy was almost too overwhelmed even to process what happened to Leo. Almost. But, Akhyls seemed to have followed Percy from tartarus, because grief and guilt and all those other lovely emotions slammed him in the gut all over again.

Percy managed to stumble his way through the rest of the day without falling apart, but he could sense the eyes on his back. People watched him for being one of the seven, or because of his disappearance, or because they somehow heard about his mom. He recognized that he still needed to play the leader, so he waited. After the burning of funeral shrouds, when it was finally evening, he dragged himself into his cabin and sat in his bunk.

For a moment, all he did was sit in silence. He stared at the wall, not thinking. There was too much that happened. He tried to sort through the events of his quest, but it felt like he watched a movie at three times speed and then had to describe what happened. He was at camp Jupiter then flying across the Atlantic. Then he went to Rome, to tartarus, to Athens, then to Camp Half-Blood. _Gods._ He hadn’t seen camp in eight months. Almost a full year. He hadn’t seen his mom in nearly a year.

_Oh gods, mom-_

A knock at the door broke Percy out of his thoughts. The door opened, and Annabeth walked in. “Hey, Percy, do you-” The question died in her throat when she saw his face. Her expression softened, and Percy realized his cheeks felt wet. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Are you okay?”

It was a stupid question, and they both knew it.

“I- I don’t know.” His voice broke, and he looked down. “Annabeth, my mom… what am I going to do? I don’t know- what am I gonna tell Paul?” He felt more tears well up in his eyes. Annabeth, for once, seemed at a loss for what to say. Percy knew that Sally had practically adopted her, treated her like a daughter.

He wiped his eyes and looked away from her. “Gods, she always did so much for me. So much. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have married Gabe, she wouldn’t have to worry, she wouldn’t have-” _died._

“Percy, this is _not_ your fault. Gaea is the one who killed her. She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself!” Annabeth’s voice was strained but firm. For some reason, it was infuriating.

Percy stood up abruptly, still not looking at her. “How can you say that? I _chose._ Gaea gave me a choice, and now my mother is _dead_.”

“And because of that, we’re still alive. Because of you, the world as we know it still exists.”

“And she’s dead. My fatal flaw is _loyalty_. Gaea knew that. But still, I let her die. I killed Polybotes knowing that when I did, knowing that her throat would get crushed. How is that not my fault?”

He felt Annabeth stand up behind him. She walked around and gripped his face. He avoided her eyes, but she forced him to meet her eyes. When he did, more tears fell from his eyes. They were swirling with guilt and grief. “Look at me, Percy. This is not your fault. _None_ of this is your fault. Please, don’t blame yourself. I need you.” Annabeth’s own eyes were pricking with tears, so she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder. Percy reciprocated, clinging onto her shoulders. He tried not to, but he couldn’t help crying onto her shirt.

After a minute, they lay down on his bed together. Percy stared at Annabeth’s beautiful blonde hair and gray eyes. Without meaning to, he remembered how she looked in tartarus. The same hair filthy and matted, eyes filled with fear and determination. He scowled. “I hate this,” he said quietly.

“What?”

“Just… this.” He gestured to everything around him.

“The wars?”

Percy nodded. “Being used as a pawn by the gods. Saving their hides in battle, only to be shoved aside and forgotten afterward. I’m so tired of dealing with their egos and their pride.”

Annabeth stared at him with a serious face. “Well, cmon Percy. I don’t think you’re a pawn anymore. I think you could be counted as a rook at the _very_ least.” She cracked a grin, but Percy just smiled weakly.

She hugged him once more before getting off the bed. “I have to go back to my cabin now. And, you know, I agree with you. We’ve done too much for them. But it’s not like we can do much about it now. I just hope we can finally have some peace.”

She left, and the light in his cabin went out. He tried to sleep but knew it was futile. He kept on thinking, couldn’t shut his brain off. Annabeth wished they could have peace, but Percy knew better than to hope. A feeling in his gut told him that he might never get the life he wanted. All his good luck abandoned him when Hera kidnapped him. He wouldn’t have peace for a long time.

\---

It was rare to see all the Olympians assembled on a day that wasn’t the winter solstice, but Zeus called for an emergency meeting. They settled on their thrones, Hades standing off to the side. The energy in the room was crackling, and the gods could tell that Zeus was angry. Gaea had just been defeated, and the gods were weary.

“You wonder why I called you here,” Zeus’ voice boomed throughout the room. “It is a matter of concern I hold towards a curtain demigod.”

The gods shifted nervously in their seats. A demigod? Why would that garner such a meeting?

“Perseus Jackson grows too powerful.”

Immediately, Poseidon’s face darkened. “What brings you to make such an accusation, brother? Percy is not any more powerful than past heroes.”

Zeus took on a contemplative look, but not at what his brother said. “As we have learned, demigods can hold grudges against the gods. Become bitter. We saw it ourselves with the child Luke, and we must be more prepared for the future.”

His unspoken words hung in the air. “Surely you do not mean, brother, that you believe Percy shall turn against us? He has done nothing but serve us. He defeated Luke, _chose_ to save Olympus.”

Zeus scowled. “Exactly my point. He has been the tipping point for the war against Kronos _and_ Gaea. What if he was to betray us, decide that we are not worth saving?”

Athena looked up from her throne. “What do you want to be done, father? If you truly think that Perseus is a potential threat, would it not be wiser to do what we can to stay allied with him? If the patter continues, we may need his help again.”

“We cannot merely allow him to stay as he is. He possesses too much-unchecked power. I have not seen such strength for thousands of years. And what he did in Tartarus…”

The other gods looked uneasy. They didn’t like where the conversation was heading.

Poseidon cried in outrage. “You say this because he is my son. If it were one of your own, you would praise him, make him a god. But now that _my_ child is more powerful than you are comfortable with-”

“SILENCE! We _tried_ to make him a god, or do you not remember? The arrogant fool declined us. I do not say this because the child is a threat to me, but a threat to all of us. If he must choose to save or destroy us again, how do we know he will side with us?” Zeus looked around, dring the others to disagree.

Athena scoffed. “Father, I do not like the child, but there is no evidence to suggest that he would do such a thing!”

“Actually…” Hermes’ voice rang out, quiet but firm.

“What is it, Hermes? Speak.”

Hermes cleared his throat and began to speak, tentatively avoiding Poseidon’s gaze. “In Athens, Percy and I partnered to defeat Hippolytus.”

“And you defeated him, did you not?” Poseidon glare was almost enough to silence Hermes.

“At one point in the battle, the giant got a, ah, lucky hit on me. I fell to the ground, dazed. Hippolytos raised his spear towards me, a blow that would have killed me if Percy had not intervened-”

“But he _did_ intervene. I do not see your point here, Hermes,” Poseidon interrupted.

“He hesitated.”

“What?”

Hermes took a deep breath. “I _said_ , he _hesitated._ He knew as well as I that the blow would kill me, but he hesitated. The look in his eyes… it was angry. He didn’t want to save me.”

There was silence in the room for what felt like an age. Zeus’ voice finally broke the silence. “I told you. The boy is too powerful, and he has already begun to resent the gods. Do you see now why we _must_ take action?”

Apollo spoke up. “Father, it was a battle, there was a ton going on. I do not see how this one incident should condemn him-”

“If our destruction is not enough of an incentive, then what of what he did in the pit? He almost destroyed the goddess Akhyls. For that, he must be punished.” Zeus’ voice held even more anger. But under it, there was a tinge of something- fear. “His powers grow by the day, and he does not trust us.”

Athena spoke up. “While I wouldn’t wish to punish our savior, Zeus does have a point.”

Poseidon glared at her, but she continued. “His powers do rival those of Heracles, and today, with his mother- he defeated his fatal flaw. I have never heard of a hero being able to do that.”

Poseidon’s outrage grew as the other gods started nodding along.

“It would be unwise not to consider that Perseus Jackson might be turning into a threat.”

The throne room stilled. The tension in the room was as weighty as the sky. Zeus pounded his bolt on the floor. “A vote. Percy Jackson must be sent to where he is no threat to us, somewhere where he can be punished for his crimes.”

If possible, the tension grew. “Those in favor?”

Zeus, Athena, Hermes, Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hades all raised their hand, if some a bit reluctantly. Poseidon glared but stayed quiet.

“Then, it is settled. Perseus Jackson shall be banished to Tartarus.”


End file.
